According to Art. 53 of the VAT Directive, the place of a supply of services, in terms of admission to events supplied to a taxable person, is the place where those events actually take place. However, the question remains as to which type of events are covered by this rule. The ECJ dealt with this in the case Srf konsulterna, which concerned courses for accounting, management and payroll consultants. Unsurprisingly, the ECJ favoured a rather broad interpretation. The extensive statements of the Advocate General regarding this case are also of particular interest. The German tax authorities may take this opportunity to adjust the relevant explanations as contained in the German VAT Circular.
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